Improvement is desired in the construction of hydraulic cylinders to enable flexibility in the positioning of the port opening. In this regard, the disclosure relates to a hydraulic cylinder construction which permits the gland of the hydraulic cylinder on which a port is provided to be rotated 360 degrees. This is advantageous to provide users flexibility to position the port opening as desired. The described structure also facilitates assembly and disassembly of the cylinder.
In a preferred embodiment, the hydraulic cylinder includes a gland that is rotatable relative to the cylinder tube, the pivotal connection provided by a pair of aligned annular grooves on the gland and the cylinder tube. A key slot is located through the cylinder tube, and a key is positionable through the key slot to be located within the annular grooves to rotatably attach the gland to the cylinder tube. The key has one end configured to engage the gland for facilitating installation and another end configured in a wedge shape to facilitate removal of the key.